Convenient Amnesia: Jon Fitch's Fight Against Chris Wilson
by Michael Rome on Aug 9, 2008 12:09 AM EDT
in MMA News
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Every once in a while, even a cynical guy like me gets suckered by those UFC hype shows that make you think every fight is even. I just rewatched Jon Fitch's fight with Chris Wilson, and came away reminded why I once thought Jon Fitch would get blown out by Georges St. Pierre.
I don't know what the judges were thinking, but Chris Wilson clearly won that first round. He lit Fitch up standing, and more notably stopped a bunch of his takedowns early on. Wilson broke in the second and third, and as soon as he ran out of gas he couldn't stop the takedown anymore. Even then, Fitch did not come away looking very impressive. He definitely won those rounds, but did it without hurting Wilson.
I think this fight provides good reason to believe Jon Fitch is in trouble tomorrow night. I don't think he will have success taking St. Pierre down, and his striking didn't look dangerous at all. Fitch doesn't really explode into his takedowns the way guys like Koscheck and St. Pierre do. His style seems closer to Tito's, where he just muscles guys down through sheer will and strength. I don't see this working against St. Pierre at all, he's just too good and too strong.
I think we'll see the St. Pierre we saw against Matt Hughes at UFC 65 tomorrow night. He'll use his wrestling to keep it standing and pick Fitch apart there where he has the biggest advantage. People have forgotten how good St. Pierre's striking is, and I think he'll remind people in a big way tomorrow night.
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If you would just add something in here about how Brocks 20lb, 4xl fists will do a good job of defending his 5 gallon head, that would be good. Oh, and add that Huerta is going to make atleast one mistake in the 15 minutes he is in the cage (that will cost him the fight), this might be a perfect thread.
I can’t tell if this is mocking or agreeing with me!
by Michael Rome on Aug 9, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Totally agreeing. I think GSP is going to wear fitch out, and I think Huerta is going to give up his back one too many times. Everyone should re-watch Frank Mir and Brock fight, so I will hear much less of the “Brock won’t finish him on the ground”.
GSP tko no later than the 3rd, Kenny Florian submission (RNC) late in the fight, and Brock with a grizzly attack on top of a loose gaurd. I see a finish similar to a typical early Tito fight.
When I was writing my predictions for 87, I was thinking that I remember Wilson should have won the fight with Fitch. Couldn’t remember well enough to say so definitively. I should go back and watch that fight before tomorrow night. I digress.. But I do know for certain that Fitch was underwhelming in that fight. For me, it took credibility away from him as a top contender. I do remember, post fight, that I said “Karo will kill him”. See, I still thought they would fight, with their bad blood being so marketable and the Alves stoppage being arguably premature.
Funny
I find it funny how GSP nut-huggers use the Wilson fight to downplay Fitch’s stand-up ability but then say that Serra got totally lucky when he knocked out GSP. You can’t have it both ways. Fitch called GSP scared to stand up. GSP wants to prove Fitch wrong. He’ll stand with Fitch and will be reminded that his chin sucks. Fitch doesn’t have a great chin either, but he can take some shots. I’ve yet to see GSP take a shot and keep his wits. He wilts under pressure.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
I never said anyone here said that
I’m talking in general, from the discussions that I’ve heard about this fight.
There are two ways this fight ends. Fitch by decision, St. Pierre by submission. Fitch does get sloppy on the ground, which could be a downfall in this fight.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
Apparently, you never watched BJ vs GSP. In the first round GSP took some shots from BJ, who has power, and lost the standup. Instead of withering under pressure he adjusted his gameplan and won the next two rounds.
The saying goes you’re only as good as your last fight and if the Wilson fight is any indication, Fitch is going to get lit up by GSP on his feet.
GSP avenged a one sided knock out by Serra and then beat an over the hill Hughes. Suddenly, he’s the P4P best fighter? Give me a break. If you use MMA Math, then they need to bring in the fact that GSP hasn’t really dominated anyone other than Hughes (who got dominated by Alves) and Serra (who KOed him).
I wouldn’t say “suddenly”. He’s been in the talks for a long time. The way he handled Hughes to win the title was when Hughes was coming off a win over BJ – and GSP absolutely destroyed him. Granted, time has caught up with Hughes (imo), but GSP also beat Koscheck. Decisively.
Yes, he LnP a Koscheck who didn’t train wrestling. He beat Koscheck through a good game plan, but he hardly dominated him in any meaningful way.
In all seriousness
Did you just start watching MMA at Huges vs. GSP II? GSP has been a dominant force in the WW division since the start. He’s lost to Hughes (he was winning that round until he got armbarred) and got leveled by a power shot to the ear by Serra. He’s beaten Spratt, Hieron, Karo, Hughes x2, Trigg, Sherk, BJ, Miller and Kos.
I’m not even a GSP nut-hugger, the facts speak for his ability. Get a life or stop trolling.
If you want to throw Sherdog taunts, perhaps you should make sure you read somebody’s response in full.
I dismiss GSP’s P4P status, not his status in the welterweight division.
You’re obviously a noob yourself, if you want to pull out an your MMA e-penis comparison. There are a whole other world of MMA blogs other than Bloody Elbow. Now tuck your e-peen back in.
Can’t say I fully understand your criteria for p4p measure then. GSP dominated a guy who was thought to be the strongest wrestler p4p in all of MMA… at wrestling. Imo, at least, it was domination, albeit a tad careful on the ground offense.
What do you think he’d need to accomplish before being talked about asp4p #1? W’s on Fitch and Alves? I might just agree with you on that. Even though I feel that Anderson still would be the man. Personally, I hold GSP as joint 2nd with Fedor and BJ.
Here’s a crazy thought: Maybe Chris Wilson is just a really good fighter and a tough guy. It’s unreasonable to expect Fitch, or GSP, or anyone else for that matter, to look like Superman in every fight. Fitch battled through a rougher-than-expected fight and got the win. Your article is called “Convenient Amnesia,” it may as well be called “Selective Recall.” You’re basing your analysis on just one of Fitch’s eight UFC fights. It wasn’t some “UFC hype show” that got Fitch a title shot, or built him into the universally recognized number one contender; it was eight straight wins in arguably the deepest division in MMA.
by explosions in outer space on Aug 9, 2008 12:22 PM EDT reply actions
You could also argue that when Fitch knew he was in a fight in which a victory would undoubtedly lead to a title shot, he wilted.
There’s a number of ways to look at it..
How did he wilt? He lost the first round to Wilson and rallied to win the last two. That’s like the exact opposite of wilting.
by explosions in outer space on Aug 9, 2008 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Just give Fitch some respect
I don’t think anyone really think Fitch could beat GSP. However, it’s just silly to dismiss Fitch based on MMA math. It’s incredibly difficult to go on a winning streak in MMA (ask GSP), so the fact that Fitch has accomplished this feat (8 in a row, and 15 straight) speaks volume about his ability. He’s going to put up a hell of a fight and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an upset.
You fight Chris
I’m not saying Fitch is gonna win but to say he’s gonna lose because of his showing against Wilson, is dumb. That’s not much different then me saying, ‘I just watched GSP get knocked out by Serra again and I know he’s gonna lose.’
Excellent points. I actually did the exact same thing this afternoon – I watched the Countdown and started thinking that GSP may be in a little trouble. Then, I watched the Fitch’s last fight against Chris Wilson and breathed a sign of relief.
As one commenter said above, credit must be given to Chris Wilson for being a good fighter that gave Fitch a tough fight. However, Wilson is no where near GSP level of fighter (which is not a slight on Wilson). Fitch was not able to take him down for most of the first round and lost on the feet. Those are both places where GSP excels. Watch the 3rd round of that fight. Fitch fought that entire round not to lose – he ran out the clock to win the decision. That is not the type of fighter that is going to give GSP problems.
(formerly TheFightJournal)
BTW
When I brokedown Wilson/Fitch, I told everyone Wilson would give him a good fight. Wilson’s stand-up is great. It was before he fought Fitch. People just didn’t know him.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
One thing forgotten about Fitch is his ability to think through a fight and find a way to win. Even against superior opponents. Thiago is a superior striker to Fitch and yet look at the outcome. Mental toughness and ability to out think your way around a fight and your opponents strengths are very very important qualities in a fighter. GSP is one of the world’s greastest p4p and is where I placed my money, but by no means do I consider this to be an easy fight.
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